God's grace may be accepted by a person quickly, slowly or never

Sunday, September 20th, 2026

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

St. Mary, St. Patrick, St. Philip Parishes

Mailing address for all three parishes: PO Box 35, Seneca WI 54654

Website: https://www.catholicchurchesofncc.com

Confessions: Normally, 30 minutes before every Mass and by appointment.

Normal Monthly Eucharistic Adoration:

St. Patrick: First Friday after the 8:30 AM Mass

St. Philip: First Sunday after the 10:30 AM Mass

Mass Intentions This Week

 Sat. Sept. 19       7:00 PM St. Patrick + Dianne Goodman (Owen & Diane DuCharme)

 Sun. Sept. 20     7:30 AM St. Patrick + Poor Souls in Purgatory (Sue Knutson)

                            9:00 AM St. Mary + Samuel Zeldin (Judy Geyer)

                           10:30 AM St. Philip + Mary Walter (Pat Anderson)

   Mon. Sept. 21   8:30 AM St. Patrick Blessings for Fr. Tom (Bishop Gereard)

   Tue. Sept. 22    8:30 AM St. Philip + All Souls

   Wed.  Sept. 23 8:30 AM St. Patrick Special Intention of Fr. Tom (Fr. Tom)

   Thur. Sept. 24  8:30 AM St. Mary + Royce Havlik (family)

   Fri. Sept. 25     8:30 AM St. Patrick + All Souls

   Sat. Sept. 26    4:00 PM St. Mary + Fran Leach (St. Mary PCCW) * Added Mass for AppleFest

                            7:00 PM St. Patrick Personal Intentions of Fr. Tom (Fr. Tom)         

 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 Sun. Sept. 27       7:30 AM St. Philip + George Jones (Fr. Tom)

                             9:00 AM St Mary + Katie McDonald (St. Mary PCCW)

                            10:30 AM  St. Philip + Mary Walter (Pat Anderson)

 Pastor: Fr. Tom Huff – Rectory 608-734-3252 email: frtomhuff@gmail.com

 Bookkeeper, Bulletin, Mass Intentions, Membership: Kevin Murray 608-391-0434 or 608-734-3931 or

 email: secretary@ncc.diolcparish.org

 Bulletin Information Deadline: Mondays at 6:00 PM. Bulletin is posted on our website.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND MASS CHANGES:

Saturday, September 26th - Added 4pm Mass at St. Mary's Parish. (Sunday Masses as usual)

Saturday September 26th and Sunday September 27th - Life Guardians are hosting the Applefest Pancake Breakfast at the new Community Center in Gays Mills.

Saturday September 26th and Sunday September 27th - St. Mary’s is hosting a Taco and Pie with Ice Cream Stand at the fair grounds during Applefest for its Annual Fundraiser. Please support!

The Gays Mills Lions Club is looking for help at the fairgrounds working at the gate and parking cars. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Call Pat Dearth if you would like to volunteer a few hours at 608-279-2417.

St. Mary Announcements:

Rosary – 30 minutes before Mass

First Sunday Potluck Brunch after Mass each first Sunday of the month. All are welcome, dish to share is appreciated, but not required. Next potluck is Sunday, October 4th.

Saint Mary’s is open 7:00am – 7:00pm daily. Please feel free to come and pray and light a candle if you would like.

Food Pantry Donations can be left in the basket in the rear of the Church.

St. Mary's Parish Fundraiser Update: We have all our spots filled for workers at the AppleFest Food Stand! For those who signed up, please check the updated list in the back of the church to make sure we have you down correctly. For those who can donate baked goods or a 9in apple pie, please have them made, baked goods individually wrapped, and dropped off on Friday, September 25th, in the church basement. Contact Emily Powell at 608-521-0373 for more details. For any questions or concerns about the food stand, please contact John Powell at 608-521-0322.

REMINDER: Please remember to use the Fall Fundraiser Envelope at St. Mary's Parish found in your Offering Box (or at the back of the church) during the month of September. Your generous donation is necessary in order to sustain St. Mary's so we can continue to enjoy and share our Lord's blessings together. Thank you and God Bless!

St. Philip Announcements:

Food Pantry Donations can be left in the basket in the rear of the Church.

St. Philip Candles: Contact Bonnie Murphy. The cost is $5 per candle.

Welcome back to school! Join us for root beer floats following 10:30 Mass at St Philips September 20th.

The raffle tickets for the Annual St. Philip's Raffle are available at the back of the church. Please pick up your envelope with raffle tickets and a letter containing information about the upcoming Fall Festival on October 4, 2026. (We cannot mail the raffle tickets to anyone.) Each envelope contains 10 books of tickets at a cost of $5.00 per book. If you need more tickets, please contact Bonnie Murphy, Peggy Schmitt, or Donna Bell.

You can return your tickets anytime by placing the tickets in the box at the back of church and any money collected can be placed in the collection basket MARKED VERY CLEARLY TICKET SALES. It is very important to mark that TICKET SALE ON THE ENVELOPES or on the checks. You can also turn tickets and money into Bonnie, Peggy or Donna. Thank you!

St. Patrick Announcements:

St. Patrick’s Parish has a fund to provide gas cards to individuals in our community who are going through cancer treatments or other illnesses that require multiple medical visits. The initial funding for this endeavor began in 2024 in memory of Muriel Kramer by her family. Through generous donations this fund continues, and 18 individuals have received a total of $1030 in gas cards. If you know of someone dealing with ailments as described above, or have any other questions related to the program, contact any of the following program leaders: Jeanne Palmer (608)412-0325, Marilyn Palmer (608)306-3920 or Brenda Ostrander (608)306-0060.

Donations will be accepted at any time to build upon this wonderful act of kindness for years to come. To donate, place an envelope in the collection marked “Gas Card Program” (checks can be made out to St. Patrick’s PCCW).

St. Patrick CCD is starting for this school year. The initial class session will be a meeting with parents and students. Parents, please attend with your child/children. Contact Susie Garfoot with any questions at 608-317-0515.

St. Patrick’s Carpet Cleaning – Help Needed The carpet in St. Patrick’s Church and Hall will be cleaned the afternoon of Monday, September 21, 2026. We are looking for volunteers to help prepare for the cleaning. After CCD on Sunday, September 20, help is needed to remove the tables and chairs from the hall, as well as candle holders, statues, and other items sitting on the floor in the church. Help will also be needed after Mass on Saturday, September 26, to put the tables and chairs back in place in the hall. Many hands make light work, and any help would be greatly appreciated!

Tri-Parish Announcements:

For Mass Intentions, if donating by check, please make all checks payable to: St. Mary Stipend Fund. To avoid errors, please print clearly the intention, who the intention is by, and if a specific date for Mass is requested. Thank You.

Tri-Parish Adult Faith Study will be Tuesday, September 22^nd at 6:00 PM at St. Mary Parish Hall.

The Weekly Bulletin is available on our parishes website, this is the link to the bulletin page, updated every Friday: https://www.catholicchurchesofncc.com/bulletins

Income from Last Week:

 St. Mary

 Adults

 235.00

 Plate

 8.00

 Betty Raha Memorial

 325.00

 Total

 568.00

 St. Philip

 Adults

 435.00

 Plate

 98.00

 Fuel Assistance

 40.00

 Raffle Ticket Sales

 635.00

 Total

 1,331.25

 St. Patrick

  Adults

  1140.00

  Plate

  150.25

  Votive Candles

  41.00

 Total

 1,208.00

DIVINE MERCY IN MY SOUL - St. Faustina quotes Jesus: “Tell souls where they are to look for solace; that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy (the Sacrament of Reconciliation). There the greatest miracles take place. …come with faith to the feet of My representative and reveal to him one’s misery. … Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint, there would be no hope of restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full.” (Diary, 1448 )

Tri-Parish Prayer List – We want to pray for the sick and others in our parishes who need ongoing prayer. To be placed on or to place someone on our prayer list, please call: Sue Peterson 608-735-4865, Bonnie Murphy 608-386-4954, or Ica Boylen 608-734-3287.

 Ron McCormick

 Tyrone Beaty

 Michael Monehen

 Rosanne Feye

 David Jacobsen

 Steve Trussoni

 Janice Coggins

 Sequohay Dockry

 Mary (Moran) Orvis

 Marian Beall

 Karen McCoy

 Jenna Friar

 Maria Camacho

 Bob Wharton

 Jeri Gorman

 Loyde Beers

 Lisa Glass

 Greg Roth

 Wade Dull

 Kiara Meier

 Shirley Whitby

 Shay Vought

 Rick Boehm

 Tom Gillette

 Rita Helgerson

 Jeff Croke

 Joyce Fisher

 Gary “Bucky” George

 Marvin Hansen

 Claudia Safley

 Eve Trussoni

 Rob Donohue

   Larry Boehm

 Todd Safley

 John & Betty Lynch

 Rhiana Morga

 Joshua Ecklund

 William Wright

 Rob Tittle

 Gene & Mary Murphy

 Linda Cowan

 Jerry Boehm

 Phyllis Bell

 Donnie Moran

 Jess Zimple

Lea Whitby

Nicholas Currich

 Alan Whitby

Jenna Peterson

Janet Black Yznaga

 Jeanette Wallenhorst

Connor Murray

Isaiah Caya and the 107th Maintenance Corp.

 Susan Monehen

Mason Evens

From the Priest’s Corner: Openness to God's Graces Happens differently in People

Most of us have a strong sense of what we’re owed. Parents know how quickly children acquire an eye for who gets what. The ill-tempered cry: “It’s not fair,” is often heard from little children. However, a child’s sense of justice often has no sense of context, of different needs, different capabilities.

Our Gospel reminds us that our entry into the kingdom of God begins with our openness to receiving God grace and our ability and willingness to respond to it. The song Amazing Grace highlights the reality that God's grace is a pure gift, nothing we have merited, but a gift given to us which we can either choose to nurture or ignore. Today's gospel about the difference in the hours worked, is meant to show that every person is different. Some understand earlier in life the blessings they have received from God and are willing and able to respond to it, while others are only willing or able to respond to God's goodness later in life.

God desires to bestow upon every person the gift of His divine love, revealed so dramatically by His Son on Mount Calvary. When one begins to appreciate the God-given attributes and talents and the potential to enter heaven, will we begin to live our lives in a way that is pleasing to God. With such understanding, the saints, some early in life, and some later in life, were willing and able to respond to God's many graces and gifts with love and gratitude, and in doing so, to help build up God’s kingdom in this world.

We should not be like an immature child - crying UNFAIR! - when we see someone - late in life - being open to God's grace - and change for the better. Instead - we should rejoice with the Angels and Saints: There will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Is it ever too late to receive God's saving grace? The repentant Good Thief - hanging on a cross next to Jesus - humbly pleaded: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." In response, Jesus said: "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."